studio space

I love how particular artists are. But sometimes creativity gets lost when things are neat and orderly. For me at least. When I am crazy and bouncing off the wall, my art doesn't make alot of sense but it is interesting. When my house is orderly, and I am composed and collected, I make boring art that old women would put on their walls next to pictures of their grandchildren and cats.

MFA talk

I think 10 minute talks are not long enough. But I suppose if people rarely give talks then they don't really know what to include, so they have to be short, just so they can practice talking in front of a lot of people. Niki's talk was the strongest. She was even talking about how she premixes all of her colors before she starts painting. Youngsheen was impossible to hear. But I remember what she had said during the selection night. I finally understand what the teachers mean about using more paint. I wish she used more paint. Dry paintings are sad. I think Mark's talk during the selection was more conclusive than his gallery talk.

Shoot An Iraqi pg 1-44

Sadly I forgot to buy the book for a long time, but I still meant to do the assignment. And I am reading it rather quickly, it is a good read.

My first reactions to the book are...
I could never live in that room
I am one of the ignorant Americans who know nothing about the war, nor do I think about how America affects other countries
and He has a wide support system

I'm also rather surprised at how openly he talks about everything, but I suppose if he is writing a book he has to be open so people will understand. And maybe it is an artist thing, us willing to expose ourselves is how we are effective in making our points.

Art Billionaire

Okay, saying one billion dollars to myself just makes me giggle. I suppose i cannot even fathom that much money. It always make me think of Dr.Evil.
Sad, sad, sad. Only to like art because of others opinions. But I suppose it is still great how much money he is donating.

The Worship of Art

What a silly little article. Yes, yes, he is right to a point. But then again, life is always more complicated than what is simple to say. Aka a nice little packaged theory. Yes overall contemporary art is meaningless and just made to annoy people, but people also what the next best thing. They want what is new and flashy. That is where bad contemporary art comes from.
From making abstract pieces, I understand how frustrating they can be, how much though and effort can be put into abstracting a form. It releases peoples preconceived notions on what something is, and allows the artist to interpret the piece however they want.
Money and power can corrupt anything. Sadly even art. Also people buy whatever is fashionable for status always anyways. Look at north-face jackets and spandex pants. No one needs those specific brands or types of clothing but they buy them because it is what they feel they should buy.
Let me just respond to his nine page rant by saying, yes it would be nice if people were brave enough to be independent, creative thinkers.
Art does not have meaning till someone gives it meaning. Sadly if the meaning they want from the piece is status, they will get it. It is just not what the author of the article wanted. Art is meant to have a purpose, who is to say what that purpose is?

John Baldessari

Serious humor is nice. Regardless of weather his artwork is "nice" it is interesting. I always fall into this pit of, if it didn't require sweat, endless hours of work and way too much thought, it is not worthy. But honestly, some of my artwork that I made in an hour or two, and just went with it from start to finish, are my favorite.
It baffles me, when hearing about artist's who loose their families because they were so into their art, and then their art is something like this. (this is horrible to say). but putting stickers on someone's face isn't that intense.... I'm just mean this morning.
Teaching is the best when a person lets their students experience creativity their own way. How can someone ever think for themselves, when someone else is constantly telling them how to think. It is much better to have the teacher as a sounding board, to help them develop the path they want to forge.

Robert Frank

I don't believe (just got a huge urge to bake something) that art can be comment-less. If you take a photograph of something or decide to paint it, you are already making a comment that you find it interesting and important. Also it is funny how people got angry at him for taking pictures of the way life was. He was just observing what what was happening. You can't pretend it isn't happening just because you don't want to acknowledge it.

Barbara Kruger

<--- kind of stupid looking, but oh so much love
(yay homemade!!)


This article made me feel stupid. It was only a page long, but I didn't get it. Or at least I am struggling to understand what she is talking about. Is she talking about photography? I think she might be. So that is what I am going to respond to. Well I think I need to read it a third time before I can finish this blog post..... Okay, nope still don't get it. Or maybe it is about paintings that reproduce what is seen in a photograph. Because I can agree that is not that great. Oh my, I can't even quote this article, I keep forgetting what I just read..... Oh yes, ummm, yeah.
Let me just talk about photo realistic paintings then. This Sunday I attended the salon series and the visiting artist was talking about where art was heading in New York. Let me just say very very disappointing. The artwork was photo realistic pieces, they seemed like they were pushing the boundaries to just push boundaries. But since there really are no boundaries at this time, they are really just trying to find the next "new thing" but really missing the mark. They seem to lack heart and soul. I personally find that art that speaks to people comes from the artist having something to say, not just saying anything. Kind of like talking to get a point across not just to fill the empty space. It's like attending a birthday party. I will not eat sheet cake. If someone lovingly made the person a birthday cake from scratch, not just bought a store bought cake. I will have some. But what is the point of sheet cake? It isn't good, it is just an empty gesture. I'm sorry if this is offensive, but I spend way too much effort on not settling.
Well anywho the artwork was just randomlly placed people, on a boring background but one of the artist blurred the edges of his work to make it look digitalized... it was lame. not even in a controversial, now I am insulted way, nope, just lame.

Sentences on Conceptual art

It is funny how people give so many rules to making art that is supposed to be breaking the rules. This blurb is saying that art is about the process and the perception, having a goal but not knowing what the outcome is going to be. Art is about the idea. So art does not have to be anything in particular but it has to have a starting point. Maybe that is what art is. A manifestation of an idea. Simply put.

John Cage

For "Theatre Piece," in 1960, Carolyn Brown put a tuba on her head, Cunningham slapped the strings of a piano with a dead fish, and David Tudor made tea.
John Cage's music was not about beauty, but trying to redefine what music is. He made parts of everyday life into music. Such as the traffic outside or a bird. He dared people to really listen to what was around them. He hoped for a world where people lived modestly, which he himself did. He was confident in his art, and positive about things turning out well.
I admire his direction. It is important to examine every aspect of life. It in of itself will keep a person modest. I also like his eccentricity. It is whimsical and fun. But he was very serious. Serious about being whimsical.

Western Disturbances

I watched Clown tourture, and it was not that emotional. But I suppose I wasn't in the room that it was being broadcast. I think if I was then I would not have been able to handle it.
Bruce Nauman worked when he was inspired. He would wait until inspiration stuck him. He played with his horses until that happened. He is quiet and observant.
His artwork is mostly disturbing, getting at human misery, and pain.
I believe his artwork is powerful but not beautiful. The only thing that is close to beauty is his fish fountains. But art is not all about beauty. It can be about thought.

The originality of the Avant-Garde

Yes, yes, yes. Once you set up an idea and start to tell others about it and they start to follow everything does loose its freshness, or originality. But it is almost impossible to always be coming up with something new. Creative process comes out of breaking the rules. So if there are not rules how can their be a way to break them. Avant-Garde sets up new rules for new artists to break, so in a way it is perpetuating the need for creation.

imitation of art

Thank you! At first I thought the article was going to be about how great John Currin's work was. I was a more than a little put off... I find his work unsettling and bland. Everything Lance Esplund said resonnated with me. It does seem like he is just stealing techniques. It does seem akward and forced, with no truth! I like how far Esplund went into demolishing Currin's paintings. Haha!

molotov man

Joy Garnett is trying to say that art is for everyone to interpret how they wish. Susan Meisela is saying that her art has meaning, a purpose and it is for her to decide how it is interpreted and what it means. Hmmm. I don't think anyone can control how others perceive their actions or words. I also believe that people should not control how others view their art. It would be the same as being in a gallery and having the artist stand there and tell you all about the artwork, what they were feeling, what it means to them, and where they stand to look at it. And then telling you, that you had to feel, think and stand in the same scenario as them. No, they can tell you, but you shouldn't have to listen.

I do believe that the painter should ask permission from the photographers before she starts painting, but I do not believe Susan should have been so appalled for the reasons that she was.

plagarism

I really like the velveteen rabbit comparison. It is true. How things are not loved until they are worn in. Like over thinking something. You are not going to realize how much you love something until you have thought about it to the point of it no longer making sense, or you no longer remember why you starting thinking about it in the first place.
I can understand what Jonathan Lethem is saying about needing plagarism in the arts, but there do need to be laws again it. People know no boundaries unless some are set. Because there are no boundaries until they are made up. Also artist (like all other beings) need to survive, they need income to buy food and housing and such, and with out laws on copying, others might find ways around paying them, then why would artists ever create?!?!? Well no they still would but honestly. I do agree that copy right laws maybe pushing the envelope too far.

mariana abramovitch

What a strange nugget. How interesting that she is trying to let go. She understands that art is about truley letting one's self go to make the art. She is letting go of her fears and self doubts. She is realizing she is so much more than a physical person, but just energy in this one moment.
It is also funny how she is making her entire life a performance. Even down to her planned funeral. Having 3 funerals where no one knows which one is real. Epic.

Off the rim

Jim Carroll was a writer with many vices but believed the drugs helped him tap into his creativity. "Poetry can release a terrible fear. I believe it is the fear of possibilities, too many possibilities, each with its own set of endless variations... with basketball you can fix your mistakes, immediately and beautifully, in midair." I completely know what he means. It is so easy to drown in possibilities. What is the direction you want your paintings to go in. Sometimes you have to decide and use all of your force to go in that one direction, and other times it is good to let go of everything and let the art discover itself. Both are extremely good learning tools.

art reviews of Richard Serra

I'm going to clump these two articles in together since they were rather similar. They are talking about a scultpors work or highrising beautifully arching steel sculptures. Ones that make the audience oooo and aaaaah. Ones that your must walk around to fully appreciate. There is no one direct view of them.

How not dumb is lady Gaga?

Sasha Frere-Jones talks about how lady gaga writes all of her own music and can sing and knows about publishing music. She also knows how to change with where music is going, by following the "disco" movement. She is not afraid to reinvent herself.

Fancy Footwork

David Denby is not too impressed with Black Swan. Honestly, when I saw the movie, I was impressed. I was unsettled the entire movie. It was passionately thrilling and drew me in. I didn't really like the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach most of the movie. But I would not say it was "clunky" but it was ridiculous at parts.

Anytime, Anywhere: Kanye West by Sasha Frere-Jones

Sadly I had never really thought of Kayne West as an artist. But that is just my prejudice against not liking him as a person. I'm never really a fan of cocky people. After reading this article I watched parts of his half an hour long film. All I can say is that it made me laugh alot. It was rather creative. But strikingly painful, I felt kind of embarrassed for him. This like that are sad if they don't have a hint of humor at how silly it is. I guess that brings me back to the cocky part. If you take yourself too seriously, I think it opens you up to more criticism and faults. But if you laugh at yourself you break down all the barriers.

It's Not Beautiful by Ean Osnos

Ai Weiwei grew up around activist parents and was influenced by them to question and push the government. He fully uses technology (twitter) and has no problem with accepting what is, but wants to help make it better. Art is anything that makes a statement or uses your brainpower. So his activism is just as artistic as chopping the neck off of a violin and replacing it with a shovel handle.

The Painted Word by Tom Wolf (Harpers)

It's rather funny how people fall into cliches just by trying to avoid them. Like the bohemians trying to avoid the rich. But painters just want to paint, not be a monkey producing what they are told to produce. This article talked about how art is all about statements, and people buy art because they understand it, or someone else told them how to understand it, aka it is worth money. Pop art came about because it was kinda realistic, but it was also expressive.

A Kind Word for Critics by Francois Truffaut (Harpers)

Although Truffaut is talking about how movie critics are not less than any other critic, he completely bashes French film critics. He does have good points on why he does that, but I find it funny. He also talks about how people see foreigners as having more talent than natives. He also goes on to say how intention and actual production never quiet match up.

I think the reason people think movie critiquing is easy, is because movies speak to people on so many levels. It contains music, language and visual aspects. Thusly it could be seen as more straight forward and speaks to more people.

diverting devotions

Good play. It was nice to be so close and personal with the actors. I like readings alot. The emotion is raw, and not overly practiced.

Walter Gropius from Art in Theory

Gropius view on art is,it is a balancing act of what you physically see and how you emotional feel and your mental understanding of it. He set up a school teaching students how to paint what they see, not in a stylistic way. Leaving the interpretation completely up to them, not striving for a "look". They would have plenty of time to develop their own style as it happens.

I feel this is the way UNH teaches art. I completely agree with this way of painting. I find it extremely important to have an understanding of form and structure while I make art. Expression is good, but it is funner and more fulfilling to express myself in times when I feel suffocated by the structure of my classes. It is also important to have a basis of knowledge to be able to understand how to express emotion. It is a hard to tell someone how you feel if you don't know how to speak their language. Some people might say, well you could express your emotions and feeling through primal screaming and body language. Once again you need a basis of understanding yourself and other's to express to them and yourself effectively.

Human beings love their brains, we love logic. To express ourselves effectively we need to incorporate some form of logic into it.

The Enveloping Air by John Berger

Monet. In one part of the article Berger said how he didn't know why Monet would paint the same place multiple times, what he was trying to get out of it. As an artists I feel like you can paint or draw something as many times as you want, but you are never going to be able to fully express what you feel about that place. You can go over it in as many washes as you want, but there is always going to be the emotion inside of you.

In another part he talks about Monet painting his dead wife's portrait. It reminded me of the earlier article we read about the nursing home. Yes, when you paint you respond only to how you are seeing not necessarily what it is. I always feel bad for the models in class when the teacher compares them to being nothing different from painting a vase or ladder.

Avant-Garde and After by Brandon Taylor

This article talked about artists reintroducing figures into their paintings. It also talked about feminist art, and it's lack there of.

I honestly couldn't focus very well on this article. I know it also talked about incorportating war images into art during times of ...war.

Artists, Critics and Content

Happenings. Honestly I could feel what they meant just by reading the article. It is a rather interesting idea. While we were at diverting Devotion it was even that much more emotional to be so close to them in the Henessy Theater than the Johnson Theater. My only hesitation is that when people start to shrug off conventionalism they get sloppy. So if they are making a huge paper mache tree, I'm hoping they are putting love and caring into it's design.

It was good to hear where the artist is coming from and what they want out of art. So I gather all this is to play off of the human experience. To make you feel, the ultimate artistic experience.

I do like being in artists space more than just seeing their artwork. I like talking to them about Disney music, laughing with them about walnuts and decaying fruit that you keep getting people to pick up because it looked fake. Everything is enhanced by being in it's own environment, when you take it out of it's environment it does look more exotic and exiting but it looses history, meaning, and importance.

Between the lines

This art show included modern art that revolved around line. Free lines, as I might call it. It seemed as if the show is about people's interaction with lines. Like the artist who dropped the string on the floor and let that shape dictate his art piece.

Louise Bourgeois

She talks about how art is just life. It is a way of expressing one's self, and living life. She is talking about how all art that is produced now is modern art, since it is modern.

I think she is right that being able to be an artist is a privilege. If no one takes favor on you, you could not survive. But I suppose you could have a side job, and make art solely for yourself. Then it is no one else's beneficence.

Letters to Emile Bernard

What I got from the letters was about letting life take over your painting. When you paint, go for what you see in nature. It is not so much what you want it to look like, but what it is that is important. They talked about putting your love into the apple. Where as he would not show his love to people openly, he would put it into painting the apple, there it would live forever.

I like the idea of painting what I see, but it does take some exaggeration. But you learn a lot about beauty and what is important from painting what you see.

what passes for art

Walter Pach is complaining about modern art. He is talking about how going away from the old way of making art is wrong.

I have been talking to other artists and also people who do not study and make art regularly. Not everyone, but alot of people I know who don't study art, don't appreciate vague artwork. Now what I mean by that is art that isn't all about the details. I once brought my cousin into the PCAC and she very shyly said "ummm I don't really like anything in here, I like your older work." And what she mean by that was the work I did in high school to get photo realism. I completely understand what she means by that, but the more I learn about colors, composition and all things painty, the more I love the looser, more playful stuff. I like to see skill and emotion, dedication and expression. Things have been reproduced, now is the time to create.

downtown's daughter

(tiny furniture still)

Lena Dunham writes, directs and stars in films. She has a sense of humor that mainly pokes fun at herself. For her plots she uses scenarios from her own life.

I actually got really excited about potentially seeing this movie. I watched a trailer and was surprised, it seems like it could be really nice.

I'm impressed with how strange this girl is. How she is awkward but okay with it. I admire that.

Poetry Recycled

What is it about sitting in the front that people shy away from? Is it rude to sit in the front. Does the middle to back, have a better experience? Is the front for people who intimately know the performers? Personally, I like not being right there, it is too personal.

I must admit, If it were not for the last song I wouldn't have like the performance. There was not enough chaos, I suppose. The last piece was crazier than the others. Very good.

I always find I think of ridiculous things all the way through "serious" performances and find my self giggling the whole time. I don't mean to be rude, it is just that there is so much that could possibly be funny about the situation, like if someone in the audience was so overwhelmed by being emotional involved in the show that they two burst out in song. And the kind of over the top, I don't know what the words or the melody is but I want to be part of this, type of singing one does in the car while no one is around.

Are vocalists ever considered an accompaniment to piano? They are right? I just feel like piano is always seen as an accompanyment to other things. But maybe that is just what I focus on.

Singing is interesting, because the words don't need to have personal meaning to hold emotion. Words hold little meaning to me in a piece. Normally I don't start listening to the words of a song till the second or third time I hear it. But then again when I am talking to a person, I hear their emotions not what they are saying most of the time. It makes for an interesting conversation sometimes. Later on, after the conversation is over, I have no idea what they said, but I remember their tone.

I liked her bracelet, It was a beautiful glitzy rainbow to watch flicker...

This class makes me hyper and chatty.

constipation

After talking to my self for a while in the car on my drive home, I started to think about how I wished painting was emotional ex-lax for me. I don't know where all the emotion comes from or where it can go. Why can't I just put it in a bucket and sell it on the side of the road to people who feel empty. I would have a sign saying "buckets of fulfillment, come dampen your dry sponge with life's wonder". But I don't think it can ever go away. I'm stuck with it.
Maybe the problem is it is like ex-lax, where it purges me temporarily only to worsen the problem. But what I really should do is just eat enough fiber from plants and whole grains, and exercise (this is all figurative). But how?!?!

Still life

Mary Gordon parelles what she is witnessing in her mother to Bonnard's painting style. She sees her mother's decaying life as a tragedy, and she does not understand how Bonnard can take a distanced view of the world. Bonnard paints decaying fruit and flowers, because he says they have more character. But Mary sees the decay as something terrible not a new beginning.
I think everyone has their own interpretations on life and it's importance and meanings. Just yesterday I was drawing and painting dying roses. I found it rather ironic to read this article right after I was enjoying the roses so much. the colors intensified and the stems and leaves curled in a way that fresh flowers never dare to try. It all just depends on how you look at something. Maybe, if an elderly person was in the right mind frame, would love to be painted. Painting something like a nursing home is not making a mockery of what is happening but showing that everything is beautiful. I don't think it is wrong to find everything beautiful.

Frank Stella & Carl Andre

Frank Stella got overwhelmed by making decisions about his paintings and decided to take all emotional/visual/thoughtful work out of it. He wanted to make direct paintings. He wanted no emotion, so he uses straight lines of color.
Ad Reinhardt is saying that is what it is, and it does not need to have a reason for itself.
Art is like wearing your glasses on upside down. Okay, You have your glasses on upside down, some people are going to love it, and some people aren't going to understand it.

Tradition and Identity

David Smith starts off saying how he viewed art, was some formulaic procedure, with special equipment and lots of planning. He goes on to say, how he later realized that art can be made by anyone, with any tools, anywhere. He talks about how art is about seeing and feeling, about going with the imperfections of creation. He believes that art is about the visual aspect of unspoken abstractions. I agree with him that art is free-play. One can make it with any medium, just as long as they are expressing themselves. Truly anything can be considered art, it just depends on who is talking, or thinking, or interpreting.

A Painter's Wisdom

It took me a while to decide if this article was poking fun, or serious. Sadly, after all that thinking, I don't find it funny. The article was basically telling artists to not sell out. They shouldn't follow the trends to sell paintings or be a slave to money. Generally artists should make the art they want to make.

Criticizing Art Chapter 1-pgs1-10

The first few pages of Criticizing art talks about the Art critics point of view. It started off saying how the word criticizing usually is taken to mean negative opinions, where as art critics criticize art because they love it. Art critics also have to figure out how to address their audience, and how to stay focused on not being so vague as to not make sense.

Making an Artist

In Making an Artist Wade Saunders talks mainly about how mostly all artists have assistants now. The article goes on to say that the artists don't want to have their usage of help widely know. They want to have the lonely, dedicated artist idea alive. The artists who were once an assistant to another artist talk about how the artist's style rubbed off on them, not only their art style but their way of treating their assistants. The artists also talked about how they give their assistants little direction, and let them fill in the spaces with their own creativity.

Procrastination

In Later Jad how it is only in the past few years that we have been having a major problem mes Surowiecki talks about how procrastination is a part of humans understanding of time. The article talks about the possible roots of the problem, such as people not knowing what is best for the. The procrastination makes them feel worse than just performing the task in the first place. No where in the article does the author talk about the perks of procrastination.

Studio Habits

My studio habits are bad. Normally I am messy and unorganized. Actually, not really I just feel that way. But to have a good feeling flowing, I have to be comfortable, which includes me being warm enough to not have to wear shoes. I really dislike painting or drawing with shoes on. I wear shoes when I am sculpting though.

I really like to feel unconfined. So that means lots of room. I also don't like having people watch me over my shoulder, except I do it alot to other people. And I was just thinking how I don't care whether or not a room is noisy, but normally besides me nobody talks very much in studio classes I am in. I'm the loud one, sorry.

And I like to be able to dance. And be loud. And let go.